Mary Louise Lopez, a native born Texan, is an established professional artist who travels throughout Mexico, Central America and South America to capture the feel and images of indigenous communities. She explains her work in the following statement: "My work endeavors to reflect the strength, pride, and endurance of cultures close to my roots. My work depicts indigenous people in their social and cultural context. Their strength, pride and quiet serenity are attributes that are very important in my representation of them.""Strength is conveyed in the whole figure, and there is never a downtrodden or meek attitude. Strength comes from deep within. It is expressed in the tilt of the head, expression of the face, the look in the eyes." "This all reflects a pride in who they are and how they view themselves. Because they possess this strength and pride in themselves and their culture, they achieve serenity and endurance. There is an inner peace which says quietly,"I am of value"." Thus the message of the work is: "Here are a people with a sense of strength, pride and serenity in themselves and their heritage. They represent the best that is in all of us."
